Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives Paperback – July 10, 2017

osie Brown has a way of writing storylines that are completely unrelatable to me... and making me want to live in them.I do not have kids. I am no longer married. I have not one, but TWO jobs. And I literally turned down the chance to run for a board seat on my HOA last week. Yet, here I was, eagerly turning the pages of a book about minivan moms, housewives and HOA board members."Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives" pulls two layers of curtains. First, the book reveals for readers what goes on in the lives of suburban, upper-middle class families. Stay at home parents shuffle from school to school, practice to practice, fundraiser to fundraiser. Working parents recycle excuse after excuse to their kids when they miss important milestones (working late, important meeting, client dinner). The kids stretch the boundaries of permissible behavior, banking on the fact that overstressed, overworked parents will ultimately relent and give in little by little.Second, the book reveals to the actual characters what's really going on in Paradise Heights. If he really working late? Is she really such a supermom? Are those gingerbread cookies really made from scratch?As fun as this book was to read, the characters' tensions and stressors permeated every page. It was really riveting for someone like me whose own life is a 180 from these plots. It was like I got to have kids without the stretch marks! I could be a housewife, but keep my own bank account and financial freedom.I really loved Lyssa, the main character. She was hysterical and witty, motivated, and loving. I wasn't a huge fan of some of her choices toward the end of the book, but I won't spoil it for a new reader. Suffice it to say, she's a much better person than I am. Much better.I can definitely picture this book becoming a limited Netflix series. There's no reason this couldn't be the next "Big Little Lies". There are enough characters to support an ensemble cast, and there is enough gossip to support multiple episodes.If you like suburban drama, gossip, and the like, this is an excellent book to scratch that itch.

Good book easy to read

Thoroughly enjoyed another riveting book by a favorite author. Keep them coming even if I stay awake longer than I should just to see what will happen next.

Makes Peyton Place look like kindergarten

Be sure to throw this delicious read in your beach bag. In Brown’s signature funny-but-endearing style, she captures the complications of love, lust, friendship, and marriage in a swanky gated CA community. Her snappy dialogue and witty observations will keep readers turning the pages.

Great read!!

The book was filled with a lot of twists and graphic descriptions. The one good, I guess, as the daughter of a former president any child she came in contact with would be thoroughly investigated. Because of this the last storyline didn’t fit. I did enjoy the read.

Josie Brown has a light hand with even the most somber of subjects. This is a well plotted tale of wealthy suburbia and the machinations of uncommitted spouses and the harm they cause,told with humor and affection.